


Awkward Mornings

by InuShiek



Series: Defect [2]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Alternate Universe, Autobot AU, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, Slash, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-04-11 15:46:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4441745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InuShiek/pseuds/InuShiek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Knock Out is having trouble adjusting to the slow-paced life that the Autobots have. He's getting restless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Awkward Mornings

**Author's Note:**

> THIS HAS BEEN COPIED/MOVED TO "[YOU IDIOT](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2708126)" AS CHAPTER 2!!!!! I will leave this up for those of you who have bookmarked/saved it, but it's now up as a second chapter of You Idiot (which is what it really is). I (still) have ideas about more chapters for the future, but life has been hectic, unfortunately.
> 
> \------ 
> 
> Surprise! this isn't dead. yes this is totally a filler chapter because....yeah we all know I'm not good at writing long fics with plot. 
> 
> I hope you guys didn't expect this to be a long, coherent plot OTL
> 
>  
> 
> _I'm sorry_

PLEASE READ THE NOTES

 

\------------

 

If he’s being honest with himself, Knock Out is grateful to Bumblebee. The yellow muscle car had gathered up the humans and driven them out of the base as soon as was convenient, and so they’d only witnessed the beginning of the mushy stuff. He’s also grudgingly grateful to Ratchet for making Arcee and Bulkhead leave what passes for the Autobot’s medical bay before carefully removing the crushed plating from his leg.

“Breakdown…. You said you were ‘planning to leave…’ How long-“

The blue mech hurries to interrupt, “Wait uh no that’s not what I meant. I planned on leaving only when you said Megatron wouldn’t let anyone come for me. I planned about two nanoclicks ahead. I just wasn’t sure they’d take me.”

Knock Out relaxes knowing that Breakdown hadn’t been planning on leaving him for a long time. “I assume you promised them information in return for a place to stay. That’s probably how Prime and Bulkhead wound up stumbling into the mine I was in when we’d only started digging there yesterday.”

“Yeah, I gave them a list of all the ones with energon left I could think of.”

“You mean you didn’t hold back a few to keep yourself useful?” Knock Out frowns. Out of his sight for two weeks and Breakdown has already done at least three monumentally stupid things- get captured by MECH, defect, and give all his info at once.

“We promised him a place to stay and safety. He doesn’t have a reason to hide anything,” Ratchet pipes up.

For the first time since the Decepticon’s repairs started, Optimus speaks. “The same promise we made to you before you agreed to leave Megatron’s service as well, Knock Out.”

Knock Out turns his gaze up toward the ceiling of the Autobot base. “Yes. Well, I’d have probably followed you through that ground bridge portal just because you said you had Breakdown, and you aren’t known for lying. But don’t think that this makes me some soft sparked _Autobot._ ”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Ratchet grouses as he runs a scan on the damage now that he’s finally got the armor plating removed. “Just don’t attack or step on anyone.”

“Jack and Raf are actually pretty good about being out of the way, but if you don’t know exactly where all three of them are, you should watch where you walk… Miko especially. She likes to weave between your pedes,” Breakdown comments.

“You haven’t let one of them ride in you, have you? Because you need to be scrubbed clean if you have.”

“Nah. The Bots won’t let them….not that Miko hasn’t been trying. She’s got a thing for heavy alt modes.”

“I need to be scrubbed clean just hearing that. That’s it. You’re getting detailed,” Knock Out says, praying to Primus that the Autobots have a decent washrack.

“If you two are done?” Ratchet interrupts. “You already killed your pain receptors I assume?”

“Oh please. I did that while I was still yelling at the miners for leaving me behind.”

Ratchet snorts. “Yes, well, they did have Optimus and Bulkhead bearing down on them. I imagine that isn’t a situation they’d want to remain in for very long. Were none of the miners injured?”

“We searched for wounded, but Knock Out appears to have been the only casualty in the cave in,” Optimus supplies.

“I’m just lucky,” Knock Out spits, glaring at his ruined finish and damaged leg.

Breakdown knows how to fix this. “Ratchet’s just as good as you. He’ll have your leg fixed up in no time, and I’m sure I can convince Bumblebee to let me borrow his rotary buffer. I’ll polish you up better than ever. You’ll be able to see yourself in your plating once I’m done.”

For a long moment, Knock Out remains silent as he watches Ratchet repair the damage, working from the inside out. Eventually, he reaches out and grasps Breakdown’s servo. “Idiot.”

The goofy grin that appears on Breakdown’s faceplates makes the small smiles from the Autobots worth it.

\------------

“This is ridiculous. Don’t they know how to have any fun?”

Breakdown watches the frustrated Knock Out pace from his place sprawled out on the berth they’d been given to share with his back propped against the wall. Bumblebee had been offering to let one of them use his room until they could convert another room into living quarters, but the red medic had smoothly informed the scout that they would be more than happy sharing. That had flustered the poor bot and given Knock Out a kick, but that had been on his first evening here- nearly a week ago.

“I mean they don’t overcharge, they don’t really race, they don’t frag,” Knock Out lists irritably. “What do they DO?”

“I think they’re just nervous. I heard two having some fun a couple of nights before you arrived. Dunno who it was,” he adds before Knock Out can interrupt. “But I don’t think they overcharge. They don’t really have enough energon for it, and they can never be sure that the Decepticons won’t attack something.”

That has the bot stopping in his tracks. “There you go again, talking like we’re not still Decepticons.”

Breakdown waits until Knock Out actually looks at him. “We’re not, Doc. I left because Megatron abandoned me, and you left to find me. We couldn’t go back if we wanted to. You know that. Look….maybe we’re not Autobots, but we’re definitely not Decepticons anymore.”

Knock Out’s servos curl into fists and relax again several times before he slumps in defeat. “I know.”

Breakdown holds his arms out, and his cherry red medic climbs into his lap so he can pull him into a hug. “I don’t know what the future will bring, but… I’m really glad you looked for me.”

“Are you getting sappy on me?” Knock Out teases even as he snuggles in close to the big blue mech.

“Probably. You should make me shut up before it gets worse.”

Happy to oblige, Knock Out cranes his neck until he can kiss Breakdown on the mouth. “Shut up,” he purrs with a smile, bringing a servo up to idly pet Breakdown’s chassis. “Seriously though, what do they do for fun? Because I’m going stir crazy.”

“Uh, they mostly do things with the humans when they’re not busy patrolling and finding energon, and I heard Bulkhead mention lobbing once…? I don’t think Ratchet ever really gets to relax, and neither does Optimus.”

“Maybe they’re the ones you heard _relaxing_ together that night?” Knock Out suggests slyly, actually making Breakdown’s faceplates glow brighter red with embarrassment.

“Maybe.”

“You know, I had intended to ask you to frag the restlessness out of me, but now that I’m here I want to just recharge. I hope you don’t mind…?”

“Of course not,” Breakdown replies before he carefully scoots down the berth so that they can lie down. He flips the tiny light switch to kill the harsh lighting of the room, and then he goes back to hugging the medic close to himself as they both power down for the night.

\-----------------------

It's early the next morning when their door is unceremoniously opened.

"Rise and shine- oh."

Knock Out blearily onlines his optics and glares at the silhouette he recognizes as Bulkhead. "Do you mind? Really. I'd have thought Autobots would have the decency to knock," he snaps quietly, hoping not to wake Breakdown with his ire.

"Ya forgot ta lock it," Breakdown mutters, slurring in his half-awake state before he brings a servo up to wipe drool off of his mouth.

"Prime told me to invite you to have energon with us. I'll just.... Yeah," Bulkhead awkwardly finishes before backing out and shutting the door. He obviously hadn't been expecting to see the two mechs recharging curled around one another.

Breakdown sighs as he rolls over and pulls Knock Out in closer. "Sorry I didn't remind you about the door," he apologizes sleepily.

"One day I'll remember that these don't close and lock themselves."

"You already got the closing thing," the blue mech encourages. "Wanna have breakfast with Team Prime?"

Knock Out hums in thought. "Not particularly, but my levels are low. Are breakfasts a painfully Autobot affair, complete with sharing of feelings?"

"They're not that bad," Breakdown chides gently. "It's awkward 'how did you recharge's and 'Raf got a new video game's mostly. Not sure what they did before I came. They take care of any secret stuff before inviting me- uh, us. We can get energon later if you want."

"No," Knock Out sighs dramatically. "Let's go see what video games the smallest human has found. We should socialize with our hosts, I suppose. I’ve been hiding long enough."

Breakdown lets Knock Out extract himself from his bear hug and stand before he follows. He gives his medic a quick glance to check for scuffs before they leave their room. When the Autobots had given Breakdown this room, he’d been expecting someone to stand guard outside it all night. Apparently though, they’d elected to instead put him at the end of a hallway and placed proximity alarms so he couldn’t sneak by in the night.

Better than being locked in a cell (which would probably be makeshift, honestly), and this way all of the Autobots can still recharge. Still, Knock Out had called it a cage without bars, even though he’d been expecting a cell too.

“I’m leaving for patrol,” Bulkhead says as soon as the pair of (former) Decepticons enter the room where the Autobots have gathered for their morning rations.

“Your shift doesn’t start for another breem,” Ratchet points out, bemused.

With a pointed glance toward Knock Out and Breakdown before he turns, Bulkhead starts walking toward the exit. “I know. Don’t wanna cramp the lovebirds’ style.”

And, just like that, all optics that weren’t already focused on their defectors swivel to do so.

“Don’t look at us. He just barged in.”

Breakdown blushes with how Knock Out neglects to explain that they weren’t doing anything obscene, but he knows that the medic is getting a kick out of making the Autobots squirm, so he doesn’t say anything. He takes the two offered cubes from Ratchet and then hands one of them to Knock Out.

“So…. How is everyone this morning?” the blue mech asks awkwardly and lamely, unable to handle the continued silence.

“We are well. And yourselves?”

“Oh we’re lovely, hot stuff,” Knock Out replies to the Prime, unable to resist teasing him. “Though we are terribly bored.”

As always, Optimus doesn’t rise to the bait. “I apologize for the lack of excitement, but I will ask you not to traumatize Bulkhead…or the children, for that matter.”

The medic opens his mouth to retort, but Breakdown gently covers Knock Out’s mouth with a servo. “Bulkhead _did_ just walk in without knocking, and…honestly sir, we weren’t doing anything but recharging. It was as innocent as we get.”

Knock Out pulls the blue mech’s servo off of his faceplates with a dramatic sigh. “Why did you ruin my fun? _Fine_ we were _cuddling_ and it seems that was too much for Bulkhead to handle. I’m not sure what he expected- for us to be hanging off opposite edges of the berth so we wouldn’t touch? All he had to do was knock and he could have saved himself the optical trauma. Of course if he wanted a show-”

“Uh… Doc? Remember what I said about breakfasts being awkward? You’re making it worse.”

“Much worse,” Arcee grouses, standing. “Come on Bee. We should get the kids to school.”

The scout beeps in agreement and follows the femme out of the base.

Hoping that Knock Out doesn’t make any more awkward comments now that only two Autobots remain in the base with them, Breakdown finally begins drinking his energon. It’s thinner than what they had on the _Nemesis_ , but it’s certainly more purified and it tastes much better. Most of Knock Out’s time was spent cleaning gunk out of the vehicons since they have inferior filtration systems to begin with and the fuel was so sludgy. Not for the first time, Breakdown is hit with a pang of remorse knowing that he’ll likely never see any of his vehicon buddies again.

“Well, if you’re bored, you could make yourselves useful in helping with maintenance around here,” Ratchet suggests, finishing off his cube with a large gulp.

Optimus nods. “I am sure the two of you have noticed that we are low on helping hands.”

Knock Out smiles and allows his optics to darken playfully. “Will you be with us during this maintenance? I’d love to see you work.”

“Doc,” Breakdown admonishes, gently elbowing the medic. He knows Knock Out loves to flirt, and the two of them love it when the mech actually convinces a third or fourth bot to join them for an evening, but Breakdown doesn’t want Optimus Prime thinking that the medic is so single-minded. “We’ll do what we can, but I’m not so great with delicate stuff.”

“I believe there is still some damage in the lower levels from our scraplet infestation. We have power fluctuations from time to time in some of our systems,” Optimus explains.

“ _Scraplets_??? On this planet??????” Knock Out nearly spews his energon.

“We took care of the problem. Don’t be a sparkling,” Ratchet grouses. “If you’re willing, I’ll take you down to show you the damage. Like Optimus said, it’s just a few power fluctuations mostly, and then the coverings for the power cables were damaged so they’re exposed to the open air.”

“Yeah, we’ll patch things up,” Bulkhead agrees for both himself and Knock Out, who is still appalled at the idea of a scraplet infestation on Earth.


End file.
